Make yourself at home.
Are you new to Oakland? Welcome! As you’ve probably already noticed, Oakland is a special place. But like all new places, it takes some time to get your bearings.To help ease your transition, Family Friendly Oakland has gathered the inside scoop from neighborhood leaders to create this welcome guide that includes important things you need to know, along with some tips to help you become a more engaged steward of our City. This is not an official City document, nor is it comprehensive in every way. But in lieu of a warm casserole delivered to your door, this is our neighborly effort to help you get in the Oakland groove.
Step 1 - First things First
If you’ve just moved here and aren’t sure where to start, check out these links to help you get set up and on your way to becoming an official resident of Oakland.
- Enroll your students or get information on local childcare resources
- Are you a new business? Get assistance , get a license
- Wondering if you qualify for medical, food, and cash assistance programs? Find out and apply online.
- Renting? Know your Oakland rights.
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Just bought an investment property? Join EBRHA and learn the Oakland laws.
- Signup for the Rent Adjustment Program and get your business license. Attend a tenant and landlord informational meeting.
- Turn on the lights - Contact PG&E
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Get your garbage, recycling and compost carts
- For stuff left over from the move and donations of salvageable goods, check out DonateOakland.org
- For broken items too big for the trash and not salvageable, schedule a bulky pickup
- Before you throw any thing away, check StopWaste.org for recycling and reuse information or search RecycleWhere.org for disposal options.
- Set up your water services account
- Get your dog license from the City
- Get a Library Card
- Register to Vote
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Update your Driver's license and learn how to get around with this overview of Oakland transit
- Clipper Card and Signup for FasTrak
- Join Getaround to rent or share a car
- Apply for a Residential Parking Permit
- Bookmark 511.org
- Get your Walk Oakland! map at a local Oakland bookstore
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Extra moving boxes?
- Turn them into gardens by sharing them with local sheet mulchers. Post to the From Lawn to Garden Facebook page and donate your boxes
- Post on Craigslist's free section
- Get the basics locally (shower curtains, sponges, toilet brushes, dish racks, housewares etc..) at KP Asian Market (Housewares annex), Cole Hardware Rockridge, or Grand Lake Ace Hardware. Head to Jack London Square to stock up at Markus Supply Ace, Bed Bath and Beyond, Cost Plus and nearby Smart and Final in Old Oakland or Chanco Housewares in Chinatown.
Step 2 - Safety check
Here are some tips to keep you safe and strategies to help you better respond in an emergency.
If you dial 9-1-1 on a cell phone in Oakland, your call will be received by the California Highway Patrol at the Vallejo Dispatch Center. This center responds to cell phone 9-1-1 calls from nine Bay Area counties. There will be a delay before your call can be forwarded to the Emergency Call Center. If you see a crime in progress, and are calling on a landline, call 9-1-1. If calling from a cell phone within Oakland, call 510-777-3211 (Oakland Emergency). To report a crime after the fact or to report suspicious activity that is not life-threatening, call the non-emergency number 510-777-3333 (Oakland Non-Emergency).
If you dial 9-1-1 on a cell phone in Oakland, your call will be received by the California Highway Patrol at the Vallejo Dispatch Center. This center responds to cell phone 9-1-1 calls from nine Bay Area counties. There will be a delay before your call can be forwarded to the Emergency Call Center. If you see a crime in progress, and are calling on a landline, call 9-1-1. If calling from a cell phone within Oakland, call 510-777-3211 (Oakland Emergency). To report a crime after the fact or to report suspicious activity that is not life-threatening, call the non-emergency number 510-777-3333 (Oakland Non-Emergency).
Put these numbers in your phone:
Oakland Emergency: 510-777-3211
Non-Emergency: 510-777-3333
Report gas leaks and other gas/electrical emergencies:
1-800-743-5000
Fire (medical or fire) emergency: 510-444-1616 (or 911 from a land line)
Public Works: 510-615-5566
Report blight in public areas: 510-238-3381
- Sign up for Nixle alerts for urgent text and email updates from the Oakland Police Department (and others).
- Review Oakland Safety Tips from the Oakland Police Department and learn how to report crimes in Oakland (including dumping, online reporting and how to respond depending on the incident type)
- Find out if your neighborhood has a CORE committee and join their lists. Eventually, you can get CORE trained to help you, your family and neighbors respond in an emergency
- Join (or start) an Oakland Neighborhood Watch group
- Print out these Helpful Phone Numbers at the City of Oakland (pdf)
- Bookmark these Helpful links and resources for Residents
- Make sure your home is safe and your household is prepared for an earthquake, and in particular, The Big One.
- If you live in an apartment, homeowner or condo association, make sure you have the manager's emergency and non-emergency number handy and understand the emergency procedures.
Step 3 - Meet the People in Your Neighborhood
Find your council district.
Effective neighboring creates better cities, and happier and more connected communities. Make the time to meet the people in your building, on your block and in your neighborhood. Find out who is representing you at every level of government. If you haven’t had an opportunity to introduce yourself yet, here are some easy ways to connect.
- Meet your neighbor. There's no link for this old-fashioned form of social networking, so head over to your neighbor's door, knock and introduce yourself!
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Find your Neighborhood Council and attend the next meeting
- Get on the neighborhood mailing or email list
- Follow your neighborhood group on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc..
- Sign up for your neighborhood NextDoor group (Background: read about Oakland's role in eliminating racial profiling.)
- Explore your neighborhood online
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Figure out who your Council Member is so you know who is creating policy and making decisions about your corner of the Town. Note: per the City's charter, the City Council's mandate is focused on legislation, the budget and setting policy. Questions and complaints should be directed at the city staff and departments responsible. That said:
- Get on their email list to stay informed
- Add your council member’s email to your contact list so you can weigh in on city policies
- Follow them on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc…
- Find out who else represents you and add their emails to your contact list.
- If you’re a new business, get connected with a Town Squared account.
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Got kids? Connect with other parents, guardians and caregivers:
- Follow the Family Friendly Oakland Facebook page, and follow @FamilyOakland on twitter and Instagram.
- Berkeley Parents Network (Includes Oakland)
- Facebook Group: Oakland, CA Mommies/Daddies Buy/Sell/Trade
- If you live in a homeowner or condo association, attend the next Homeowners Association and join a committee.
Step 4 - Make Oakland Better
Sponsor a Mosaic Trash Can through the Adopt-A-Spot Program
Oakland needs you to be their eyes and ears. Share your ideas, heart, hands, time and yes, even money. Oakland’s history of local self-reliance, resident engagement and volunteer spirit is our strength, and we invite you to do what you can to give back to your new community.
- Download See-Click-Fix and start submitting issues, adding comments, and voting on requests.
- Shop at local stores, check out the Jack of All Trades Market and get your produce at weekly farmers' markets
- Lend a helping hand atEarth Day activities or on Creek to Bay Day
- Volunteer with and donate to Keep Oakland Beautiful
- Adopt a Park, paint a utility box, or mosaic a trash can through the City’s award-winning Adopt-A-Spot program
- Not artistic? Adopt a Storm Drain instead and keep our streets from flooding and garbage from polluting our waterways
- Got tech talent? Participate in Open Oakland’s annual City Camp or weekly hack nights.
- Get to know an Oakland non-profit. There are so many here making our city better each day. Search Guidestar to find one that fits your interests.
- Set up an account on the Speak up Oakland platform so you can give your feedback back to the City of Oakland.
- Attend the 14 week Citizens Police Academy
- Concerned about Homelessnesses? Join the county's EveryOne Home initiative, sign up to be on a committee or participate in the annual count of homelessness.
- Do something that puts you in contact with others that are a different age, race, or cultural background from you. For example, volunteer at a local recreation center, Senior Center or get involved with Meals on Wheels. Or become a mentor and support the City's Oakland Promise initiative.
Step 5 - Get to Know Oakland
Photo by Family Friendly Oakland
Learn more about Oakland and everything happening in it. Follow these tips and you’ll be on your way to becoming a resident-in-the-know.
- If you have young children, bookmark 510 Families and sign up for weekly tips
- Attend a City Council or Committee meeting (follow #Oakmtg on twitter) or follow on KTOP online or on TV (schedule) or KTOP on Facebook
- Sign up for the Mayor’s Newsletter or updates from the City Administrator and any other City lists or alerts you're interested in.
- Follow the City's on Medium, Facebook, and Twitter
- Attend a City Board or Commission Meeting
- Explore Family Friendly activities and places
- Check out Visit Oakland for the latest events and Oakland ideas for visitors (follow #Oaklandloveit and @VisitOakland on Twitter/Facebook )
- Take an City of Oakland Walking Tour or an Oakland Urban Paths tour
- Subscribe and/or follow local news sources: the East Bay Times andEast Bay Express for local print news, KTVU and KRON4 for news media and KQED for the local public radio/television station.
- Learn more about recurring themes:
- Housing prices, rising rents, the Housing Crisis, and affordable housing
- Displacement and Gentrification (Watch KCET's show, City Rising)
- Black Lives Matters
- Police misconduct
- The murder rate (Listen to Counted: an Oakland Story)
- Join the Oakland History and Oakland Now! groups on Facebook and/or read a book or two on Oakland History. Or listen to East Bay Yesterday podcasts on Oakland. Not sure where to get started? Try Beth Bagwell's Oakland: The Story of a City.
- Sign up for the East Bay Regional Parks newsletter to get e-news updates
- Check out Block by Block's helpful resource list
- Root for the home teams: the Oakland A’s, Oakland (for now) Raiders and the Golden State Warriors
- Have a passion? Find your peeps.
- Find the answer to all your Oakland questions at OaklandWiki or subscribe to the Oakland Subreddit. Setup an an account and start contributing content.
- Read up on the City's motto, first appearing on signs in 2018, "Love Life."
Step 6 - Celebrate Good Times
You've made it this far! Now that you’re all settled in, it’s time to have some fun! Here are a few recurring events in Oakland that you won’t want to miss. Mark your calendars.
Photo by Family Friendly Oakland #ReclaimMLK Teach-In
Thank you.
Are you feeling like an Oaklander yet? More nested, more connected, more informed? We certainly hope so and we appreciate you taking the time to more fully engage as a resident. In fact, for one last tip, head on over to Oaklandish, pick out a shirt or neighborhood button and wear it with pride. You've earned it!
If this guide helped you, share it with others that have recently moved and help us help others by telling us how we can make improvements. In the mean time, we'll see you around the town!
If this guide helped you, share it with others that have recently moved and help us help others by telling us how we can make improvements. In the mean time, we'll see you around the town!
Photo by greenkozi : https://localwiki.org/oakland/Welcome_to_Oakland_Mural
A special thanks to the following neighborhood groups for their ideas and contributions: Grand Lake Neighbors, Old Oakland Neighbors and the Golden Gate Community Association.
This information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed.
This information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed.